Archive for October, 2009

Adrian & John have kept residents up to date with their pressure to secure smell-free air for residents living above Limekiln Lane.   At its meeting yesterdayAdrian was able to update the Residents’ Association on a welcome new initiative from Tate & Lyle.

Following the meeting we had with managers of the Company, together with our Senior Enivronmental Health Officer, and the residents’ petition that we presented on your behalf, we are glad to report that progress is being made.  There is a continuing dialogue between our Environmental Officers and the Company, and they asked for a sample of the “tall oil” on site. 

An excellent outcome of that continuing contact is that Tate & Lyle have now put full filters on all tanks that do or may contain “Tall Oil”, which should at least prevent any odours from that product in future.

We have always recognised that there may be other sources of unpleasant smells but it is to Tate & Lyle’s credit that, to use their manager’s own words, they ‘held their hands up’ and admitted to a number of the most unpleasant incidents.  These new filtering measures will, apart from containing the immediate risk of smells from Tate & Lyle, hopefully assist in isolating smells from other sources.

 We’ll continue to take a close watch on air conditions in this locality and our MP Angela Eagle is being kept fully informed. 

We want residents to let us know of any further unpleasant smells affecting the area in the weeks and months ahead.

The local Wardens reported at the Seacombe Area Group Residents’ Association meeting  that for Percy and Palatine Road residents there is an opportunity to get rid of all manner of unwanted materials.  Even white goods such as old freezers, and old 3 piece suites etc will be taken away – so look out on the day for the Wardens and their wagon.  This is a great service and we thank them for it.

Despite regular police patrols it is immensely difficult to prevent isolated incidents of this sort of mindless behaviour.

The attached photograph, taken in Central Park at just before 5.00pm today, tells its own story – a bin set alight by yobs.  Fortunately a motorist in the car park had a can of water to douse the final flames, but by then the damage had been done.

Close by there were discarded lager cans and broken cider bottles – leaving a serious hazard for children and also for people’s pets as the park is popular with local residents exercising their dogs.

 But crime is reducing thanks to the policy of innovative strikes to target known trouble spots in a concerted way.  Last week in a well orchestrated evening operation several teams of CSOs and police, accompanied by Seacombe Cllr John Salter, toured some 30 of the area’s known hot spots for under age drinking and trouble-making.  The theme was to make sure that where youngsters were causing trouble to residents, or abusing alcohol or drugs, they would be sent or taken home to their parents – with warnings that repetitions can lead to far more serious action.  Nobody wants to criminalise young people so parents are being given an opportunity to know what their children are getting up to with the hope that they will stop it and that stronger action will not be necessary – but the warnings were clear:  repetition will result in strong action. 

It was an altogether highly successful operation and we describe just a few of the incidents dealt with below.

When one team was delivering letters to houses in the Percy Road area a group of youngsters handed the team a half bottle of vodka they had found left in the play area by older youths. Just after that the team had a call from another patrol at the Town Hall, which had just apprehended a group of under-aged youngsters who were well supplied with alcohol.  This spot was targeted after a request from Buchanan Road residents, just that morning.  Next, two CSO’s and John went to Central Park, where they found a group of young girls of 13 or 14 years.  One was hiding a bottle of white cider.    It was emptied onto the grass and the children were taken home.     Later the team came upon an extremely loud party near Lloyd’s corner.  The organiers were asked politely to bring it to an end and were left with no doubt that this sort of thing is not acceptable so there must be no repetition.

Paying tribute to our local Police, and to the staff of the Allandale Youth Centre, John said:

“I fully support the work our police are doing to safeguard the young people of the Wirral, with the support of all the agencies involved, and not to forget the staff at the Allandale centre for staying open late, to allow us access for shelter.”